Polymer latexes (and core/shell polymer latexes having a “hard” shell, with a glass transition temperature of equal to or greater than 60° C., tend to be more friable and exhibit significant dusting as solids. The friability of such polymers present serious safety issues when spray drying, addressed by drying equipment explosion protection. The particles resulting from drying of droplets of such emulsion polymers contain thousands of individual latex particles, having no cohesive force holding them. Such dry particles are often broken down to smaller fragments during handling, thereby increasing the severity of a dust explosion. The presence of even a low quantity of dust in the atmosphere of a factory poses a significant combustion/explosion risk. Therefore, a polymeric powder composition lowering such risks would be beneficial.